Protocol for Undertaking a School IPM Demonstration Project
There are five important components when implementing an IPM demonstration
project/program.
1. Local leadership – when engaging with a new district, having key people in place is
essential. The IPM coordinator (district contact) needs to be an individual that has
enough authority to help ensure that behavior changes will be made. The coordinator
must be willing to work with district administrators to implement the program.
2. Partnerships – The IPM program is about developing a team, this team can be comprised
of school officials, Extension representatives, Department of Agriculture pesticide
licensing officials, Department of Health food safety/public health officials, parents, and
pest management professionals willing to work with a school district to implement a true
IPM program.
3. Funding (does not necessarily need to be a lot) – funds to help with personnel travel,
purchasing of necessary tools to help with IPM program, other costs associated with
bringing in experts to help with problem solving, to conduct site inspections, etc.
4. Flexibility (what does the school want to get out of the project) – in some cases the
district needs assistance with setting up policy and procedures or becoming compliant
with state laws and regulations, others want help with developing procedures that could
be incorporated into a software maintenance program (like SchoolDude); while others
need assistance in managing their buildings.
5. Communication – Establishing an IPM program is not just about inspecting buildings and
changing how pesticides are applied. Offering assistance via phone, email and face-to-
face will also cover how to talk with key personnel within the district, it could be helping
them solve an unusual pest problem, it could be helping them organize their records; and
it some cases it’s just listening to the IPM Coordinator and helping them come to solution
about district problems.
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?
IPM is a process for balancing the risks between pests and pesticides to achieve long term pest
suppression. IPM uses a wide variety of technological and management practices. Control
strategies in an IPM program extend beyond the application of pesticides to include structural
and procedural modifications that reduce the food, water, harborage, and access used by pests.
Points of IPM: Communication, Identification, Monitoring, Exclusion, Sanitation, Treatment
Strategy, Evaluation
Pest Vulnerable Areas (PVAs)
There may be more to a school than meets the eye. When the lights go out at the end of the day,
four, six, and eight legged invaders may abound. To reduce pests in schools, you must reduce
pest conducive conditions. These conditions are often found in what we call pest vulnerable
areas, or PVAs. These are areas that have food, water and harborage available to pests. In order
to find these pest vulnerable areas, it is important for pest managers to monitor the school for
pests; this is done through monitoring stations placed throughout the school. Not only do pest
managers monitor for pests, but they keep an eye out for pest harborage sites as well. Once an
infestation is identified, measures are taken to reduce the infestation including, exclusion,
Demonstration protocol Page 1
reduction of food, water and harborage, and the judicious use of pesticides, usually in a targeted
bait application. By using integrated pest management principles, we can reduce the numbers of
pests as well as maintain a healthy learning environment.
PVAs: Offices and Lounges, Food Service Areas, Dry Food Storage, Custodial Closets,
Classrooms where Food Preparation Occurs, Kindergartens, Science, Art and Special Needs
Classrooms, Storage Areas, Dumpsters and Trash Cans (Interior, Exterior and Custodial)
General procedures for Extension Change Agent:
Before you begin to implement an IPM program in your county be sure to do your homework.
Find out the following: 1. What materials are already available from a School IPM Program or
State Specialists that work in pest management? 2. What are the laws and regulations that might
impact implementation of a program in your area? 3. What has been done in my area in the past
with School IPM, was it successful? 4. If it was successful will my additions help improve the
program? 5. If part of the program was not successful, why did it fail?
1. Introductory meeting of key players to describe the expectations and general process.
At this meeting it is essential to understand what role the school will play, what
your role is, what the district expectations are, and what they hope to gain from
this project. Most important – you need to have a plan in place that will allow the
district to implement and maintain the program within 1 to 2 years.
2. Initial on-site assessment of school’s pest management policy and program.
There are a variety of tools available. The IPM STAR audit process plus
checklists that have been developed by the southern region workgroup allows the
change agent to access several areas within the district, including current pest
management practices, building conditions, and employee involvement. It is best
to use a team-based approach where several people with both structural pest
management and grounds expertise are involved. One person collects the
assessments of the team members and organizes it into the report. This will help
the change agent organize his/her thoughts and put together an action plan on how
to address implementing the program.
3. Written report based on the initial assessment.
Outlines strengths and weaknesses of the current program and describes steps to
take. It’s important to have organized the needs of the district by assessing the
status of each of a list of school IPM elements. In some cases a Memorandum of
Understanding/Agreement may need to be developed for aspects of the projects.
This will also allow the Change Agent to establish roles for all key players within
the project.
4. Regular contact between the school’s IPM coordinator and demo leadership.
Conducting site visits (inspecting schools) is not the only requirement of the
change agent. Regular contact with the IPM Coordinator is essential, in some
cases it can be a phone call just asking how things are going, what pest problems
Demonstration protocol Page 2
they are seeing in other campuses, assisting with program implementation with
guided training for school personnel. (In some cases, listening is the most
important step you can do, hearing what they are struggling with can help you to
determine what you can do to offer assistance. IPM is not just about pest control,
it’s about building integrity and open communication.)
An in-service training should be given to food service, custodial, building and
grounds maintenance in the initial phases of the project. In most cases people
have perceived views of pest control and pests (i.e. we just have to live with
cockroaches). In addition, employees don’t always understand that IPM is
everyone’s responsibility and why it’s important to complete task that the IPM
coordinator has asked for.
5. Toward the end of the project, a final on-site assessment guided by the results of the
initial assessment and identified needs. IPM is an ongoing process and the change agent
should continue to remain in contact with the school, but for grant objectives a tally of
what has been done should be recounted.
Review the initial building assessments – these campuses should score better at
the end of the project.
District employees should have fewer pest complaints and a better understanding
about pest biology and what their role in the program is.
6. An outreach event, such as a regional workshop, where the demo project is highlighted to
other schools.
Once the school district has established a working IPM program it’s time to take
the show on the road. Getting a press release is great, but training for neighboring
school districts is even better. It allows the district to showcase its program, to
act as a leader in the area/region, and allows for introduction of IPM to other
schools and community personnel.
Another option is to organize a workshop and invite school districts, pest
management professionals, health department workers, and others to attend a day
long workshop on IPM in a continuing education program similar to pest control.
This allows the Change Agent to discuss common pest problems and offer
solutions to a larger group. This is also good to have the school district give a
presentation about the implementation process what worked, what didn’t, what
were major problems.
Other areas of concern to consider
Every IPM demonstration program will have its own unique set of standards and requirements.
Items you may need to consider is pesticide applications and licensing and training for school
employees. Working with pest management companies and professionals to ensure IPM is being
adopted in the demonstration campuses, plus district wide.
Pesticide applications should only be made by licensed applicators (even if state has different
rules, a key component of the IPM program is having only licensed applicators – raise the bar)
There needs to a system of notification and posting when pesticides are applied.
Demonstration protocol Page 3
District needs to have update pesticide labels and MSDS’s on file.
Routine pesticide applications are not part of an indoor IPM program. Preferential use
least toxic options, with an emphasis on monitoring and established thresholds.
Develop a district IPM policy
This should also be presented to the school board for adoption
Form an IPM committee
Or utilize an established health, risk or environmental committee
Develop inspection/monitoring checklists.
Teacher outreach (as food in classrooms).
Implement pest sighting logs.
Pest-proofing input into plans for new buildings or remodels
Sanitation/exclusion improvements
IPM ELEMENTS STATUS (a checklist for change agent)
IPM Policy
Needed, preferably board approved and district wide. This is an essential task associated
with the demonstration project.
Site Plans/Maps
Work with custodial/maintenance/pest management staff to establish pest monitoring
program including mouse and crawling insect traps in critical areas in schools, primarily kitchen,
pantry, cafeteria and teachers lounge. Mark locations of traps/monitors on maps and put maps
in monitored areas with copies of maps kept in central log book.
Inspections and Monitoring
Develop inspection/monitoring checklists. Implement and/or document protocols for
regular sanitation and maintenance inspections of pest sensitive areas inside and exterior of the
building. Implement pest sighting logs. (see attached IPM Pest Monitoring Protocol)
Diagnosis
Work with custodial staff to establish protocols for identifying most frequent pests (such
as mouse droppings, wasps, fruit flies, drain flies). Identify and make available resources for
pest ID and to obtain assistance in identifying unknown pests or pest evidence (usually by
contacting Cooperative Extension).
Sanitation
Work with custodial staff to document protocols including recording actions taken and
assessment of results. Address points from initial assessment.
Maintenance
Demonstration protocol Page 4
Work with maintenance staff to document protocols including recording actions taken
and assessment of results. Address points from initial assessment, sealing up pest entry ways.
Control Options
IPM policy should include broad guidelines including use of practical least risk options.
Transition to least toxic options in structural pest management. Establish protocols for the most
frequent pest situations. Develop a decision tree.
Thresholds
Establish for the most frequent pest situations. (See school IPM management plans
developed by southern region school IPM workgroup)
Notification and Public Awareness
Develop a system of notification and posting when pesticides are applied.
Record Keeping
Work with facilities director and staff to establish protocols for keeping centrally-located
written records of pest sightings, pest monitoring and trapping results, pest control actions, pest
prevention actions, and notification of parents and staff. See Inspections and Monitoring,
Sanitation, Maintenance, Control Options and Notification and Public Awareness above. Update
pesticide labels and MSDS’s on file.
Outreach/Education/Communication
Work with facilities director, school principal and other staff (such as nursing staff, food
service director, etc) to develop a plan and implement it for in-service training for school
maintenance/custodial staff, kitchen staff, teaching staff, administrators and office staff, and
conduct outreach to increase awareness of new IPM policies and program among families and
community. Specific in-services can include outreach to food supervisors, teachers on food in the
classroom (serving breakfast in the classroom), and the culinary class.
IPM in Schools/Child Care Pest Monitoring Protocol
When placing pest trapping monitors it is important to remember a few things:
Monitors should be placed in all pest vulnerable areas (PVAs) and hot spots.
Monitors should be placed against a wall and/or on a window ledge. Secluded corners
are often good spots.
Monitors should be placed out of the way of people or activities.
All monitors should have a placement date and number.
Monitor placement should be documented in case someone else has to retrieve them.
Demonstration protocol Page 5
Monitor locations should cover the site well.
Place traps near to persistent pest conducive conditions.
Monitors should be re-locatable so you can target the pest.
If monitors are placed in a classroom, the teacher should be informed of its location and
purpose.
Monitors should be “read” monthly and should be changed when it is filled with pests,
dust/dirt, or when three months have passed.
Typically an elementary school will require 20 monitors, a middle school 35, and a high
school 40. Schools with higher pest pressure may require more monitors.
PVAs Monitor Placement Area
Kitchen/Cafeteria Dry storage and pantry, dishwasher area, near external
cafeteria doors, near floor drains, and within the lower
panels of serving counters
Staff lounge Behind vending machines, in counter or drawer, behind
microwave, and next to refrigerator
Custodian’s storage Under shelving, near to floor sink, near external door (if
present)
Reported hot zones Under counters, sinks, near windows
from pest sighting log
Special Education or kindergarten Near food preparation area, near backpack storage,
classrooms under sink
Home economics/ Life skills Near stove or refrigerator, near washer/dryer, under
classrooms counter
Stage areas Under stage storage, equipment room
Locker areas Under lockers
Concession stands Under counters or equipment
Classrooms with animals/plants Near pet food or plants
Cluttered classrooms Remove clutter, monitor in storage areas, under sinks
Bathrooms (if there is a problem) Near external doors, near cracks and crevices, near
Demonstration protocol Page 6
utility pipes without escutcheon plates
Nurses station (if there is a problem) Under desk, under sink, near external door
General Information:
Monitors should be placed on the floor against walls and/or on window ledges. If monitors are
likely to be moved, use the double sided tape to fasten the monitor in place. If monitors are not
catching pests, think about how the pests may be entering and relocate the monitor to a more
suitable location. Don’t forget to use other structural elements as monitors. Window ledges,
floor drains, light coverings, and spider webbing all serve to help you monitor for pests.
Monitoring stations should not be stored alongside volatile chemicals.
Demonstration protocol Page 7